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Pre-Arrival
Alheit Vineyards Chenin Blanc Huilkrans 2018
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$185.93
The 2018 Huilkrans is 100% Chenin Blanc from the Citrusdal Mountains. Its bouquet is more waxy and resinous than...
Pre-Arrival
Alheit Vineyards Chenin Blanc Nautical Dawn 2020
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$79.00
The 2020 Nautical Dawn, from granite soils and vines planted in 1978 that undergoes a two month ferment, is aged in...
Pre-Arrival
Domaine Belargus Anjou Blanc 'Roueres' 2020
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$103.13
Pure Chenin Blanc from one of the three original decreed parcels of the Quarts de Chaume, Rouères. This parcel is...
Pre-Arrival
Domaine Belargus Coteaux Du Layon 2018
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$51.95
From south-facing slopes on the schistous soils of the Loire tributary, the 2018 Coteaux du Layon Moelleux Layon...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$83.95
Sourced from a tiny, south-east facing 0.35-hectare plot on a marriage of schists and pudding sandstones in the...
375ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$277.62
Pre-Arrival
Domaine Belargus Savennieres 'Gaudrets' 2019
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$51.95
The 2019 Gaudrets is not shy to come forward in a line up of Savennières. It has the ferocity of female gladiator...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$95.50
100% Chenin Blanc. The Clos du Papillon is one of the three most celebrated coulées or small ravine-like valleys in...
Pre-Arrival
Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc 2021
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$49.71
Organic. Pruning method is Guyau Val de Loire. Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted in the vineyard....
Pre-Arrival
Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Breze 2018
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$105.85
Organic. Pruning method is Guyau Val de Loire. Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted in the vineyard....
Pre-Arrival
Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Breze 2019
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$117.94
Organic. Pruning method is Guyau Val de Loire. Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted in the vineyard....
Pre-Arrival
Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Breze 2020
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$93.24
The 2020 Brézé is a blend of three plots within this esteemed vineyard. It spends two years in 50% new oak,...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$71.00
The 2018 Saumur Bizay Clos de Guichaux is from another monopole the family holds in Saumur. Planted in 2003 on silt...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$84.08
A very pure, white-stone character on the nose, framed beautifully by some fresh, matchsticky reduction. This is...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$58.94
The 2021 Clos de Guichaux is sourced from vines planted in 2003 on shallow soil over limestone. It's an oaked, nutty,...
Chenin Blanc Lambrusco Rum Pre-Arrival
Originating in France yet now grown in many parts of the New World, Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile and highly regarded white wine grape varietals on earth. These green skinned grapes hold a relatively high acid content, and as such can be used for making still white wines of exceptional quality, as well as superb sparkling wines (such as the Crémant wines of the Loire Valley) and extremely aromatic dessert wines. Their natural transparency means that they are a fine grape for expressing their terroir in the bottle, and winemakers often experiment with this varietal to coax unusual and intense flavors from the grapes, such as allowing the development of noble rot on the fruit in order to make sweet and viscous wines of a unique character.
Some grape species are distinct and unique varietals, clearly separate from each of their cousins. Others, like Lambrusco and Muscat, are more like umbrella terms, featuring several subspecies which show slight differences from each other from region to region. Indeed, there are astonishingly more than 60 identified varieties of Lambrusco vines, and they are almost all used in the production of characterful Italian sparkling wines. They are distinguishable by their deep ruby blush, caused by strong pigments present in their skins, and their intensely perfumed character.
Lambrusco vines are grown in several Italian regions, although we most closely associate this varietal with Piedmont and Basilicata. It has also been grown successfully in Argentina and Australia. The varietal suffered from a fairly lowly reputation in the late 20th century, due to bulk, low cost production of Lambrusco sparkling wines, aimed at markets across northern Europe and America. However, things are rapidly changing, and the older, more traditional methods of bottle fermentation are returning, along with a higher level of quality and expression, as consumers become more discerning and demanding. Many of the Lambrusco sub-varieties have their own established DOC, such as Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Lambrusco di Sorbara and Modena, where new regulations are keeping standards high and methods traditional.
It is difficult to categorize rum as a single spirit, because of all the spirits found around the globe, rum is perhaps the one which varies most dramatically from place to place. Clear, white rum - a favorite for cocktail drinkers - is perhaps the most prevalent example found today, but there is a whole world of darker, spiced and molasses-rich rums to explore, thanks to the fascinating history and wide reach this drink has.
Rum came about during the colonial times, when sugar was a huge and world-changing business. The molasses left over from the sugar production industry could easily be distilled into a delicious alcoholic drink, and provided extra income for the sugar traders. Before long, it became a favorite of sailors and transatlantic merchants, and it quickly spread across the Caribbean and Latin America, where it remains highly popular today.
The production of rum is a basic and simple one - you take your molasses, add yeast and water, and then ferment and distil the mixture. However, as is often the case, the devil is in the detail. The variation in yeasts found from place to place, the maturation period, the length of the fermentation and the type of stills and barrels used provide the rainbow-colored variation that gives rum its spectrum of styles and characteristics.